SBC President Proposes Amendment to Baptist Faith & Message on Gender and Marriage

Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Willy Rice has formally requested that the denomination’s Executive Committee consider adding an article to the Baptist Faith & Message regarding gender and marriage. Addressing the committee, Rice argued that current cultural shifts represent an unprecedented redefinition of marriage and a rejection of the created order. He proposed that the new article be modeled after a 2022 statement from First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, which affirms that gender is a fixed matter of biology and that marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman.

Rice stated that the amendment would serve as a clear internal and external witness that the denomination remains committed to its traditional doctrines. The SBC Executive Committee is scheduled to vote in February on whether to present the proposal to messengers at the 2027 Annual Meeting. If the motion proceeds, it would require a two-thirds majority vote at two consecutive annual meetings to be officially adopted into the confession.